The path toward America's future is becoming increasingly more dangerous. I'm not referring to the numerous scandals that are now rocking the country nor the challenges and threats posed by the leaders of Syria, Iran, Libya, North Korea and other geopolitical hotspots around the globe.

The danger lies in the changing American culture. The personal beliefs, wants and needs for the nation's future are more frequently reflected at the polls and in national surveys. In the past two presidential elections, more than 50 percent of Americans voted for a liberal position encompassing a more generous entitlement agenda and a need for government to manage how Americans live, work and play.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., stated that "Nearly six out of 10 believe that money and wealth should be more evenly distributed among a larger percentage of the people in the U.S." This was verified by PolitiFact.

Redistribution of wealth cannot be accomplished by investing in and supporting capitalism. Some of us will gain wealth through hard work, business acumen and, yes, even good luck. Others will not. A balanced distribution of wealth can only be done by a government dedicated to leveling the economic playing field by penalizing those with more points on the board.

By casting aside capitalism's tenets in favor of government dependence on entitlements and Big Brother supervision, we will find ourselves headed down a dangerous path toward those countries where redistribution of wealth has failed.

Gun control: get the job done

LAGUNA BEACH, Denny Freidenrich: Has it been six months since the Sandy Hook tragedy? The journey from Newtown, Conn., to Washington, D.C. has been heartbreaking. The only conclusion I can draw from the Senate's rejection of the bipartisan Manchin-Toomey background-check amendment last April is this: Those 20 children and six adults who were slaughtered Dec. 14 died in vain. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

So what went wrong? Two things. First, raw politics trumped common sense. Several senators up for reelection in 2014 decided the negative blowback for voting against gun-rights legislation was far greater than voting against gun control.

Second, the heat went out of the public fire. The National Rifle Association and its supporters are a smaller, but far more vocal, group than the 90 percent of Americans who want more restrictions on guns. I urge Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to keep trying until the job is done.

O.C. grand jury cuts

IRVINE, Frederick Gebhardt, member O.C. Grand Jury 2012: So members of the O.C. Board of Supervisors want to cut the pay of the county grand jury, the only independent watchdog over Orange County's government. These dedicated jurors give unbiased judgments about the performance of the various governing structures and their leaders. The board threatens to cut grand jurors' meager $50 per diem pay to $15, surely not to save money, but to protect their own interests. They do not like someone telling citizens that they are not doing their jobs properly or are catering to pressures that are not in our best interest. Shame on them.

A more judicious savings that the board could make is to eliminate the extra pay its members get for attending other agency meetings, none of which do the public service that the grand jury does. O.C. citizens need better representation than that of the current Board of Supervisors, which is trying to hide from the eyes of the only official Orange County watchdog.

July 4th call for lettersCelebrate Independence Day with us by rereading the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution or the Bill of Rights and sending us a letter (You can find the texts of each document online at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html.Pick one issue addressed in these documents and expand on its importance and application today. What do you think is the most critical issue that the United States must deal with in the short-term, in the long-term? Why? Or simply expand upon your insights into these documents.We will publish a varied selection of your letters during Fourth of July week. Letter lengths should be 150 to 300 words. Send your letters to letters@ocregister.com. We must receive your letters no later than Thursday, June 28, at 8 a.m. to be considered for publication.

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